The Little Master Sachin Tendulkar did India proud again recently. He amassed 30,000 runs in his 20-year-old cricketing career to become the first person to reach that milestone. Sachin achieved that record on day five of the first test between India and Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad, when he scored his 35th run to enter the golden pages of the record books. Incidentally Sachin went on to score his 43 rd test ton and the eight against Lanka in the second innings of the first test.

The Master Blaster is also short of another milestone. By picking up another wicket, he would have taken 200 international wickets. He has 44 wickets in Tests, 154 in ODIs and one wicket in T20. Sachin has till date played 160 Tests, 436 ODIs and a T20 scoring 88 international tons and 144 fifties. He has amassed 12877 unbeaten runs in Tests, 17178 in One-Day Internationals and just 10 in Twenty20 Internationals. He crossed the 17,000-ODI run mark in the series against Australia recently.

The making of a prodigy became visible when Sachin scored a ton in every innings he played in 1988. Playing in the Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988, Sachin and Vinod Kambli scored an unbroken 664-run partnership. Sachin remained unbeaten at 326. The record was only shattered in 2006.

Sachin Tendulkar has come a long way. Making his test debut at the age of 16 years against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989, Sachin just scored 15 runs, before being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his test debut. Sachin was praised for how he took the numerous blows of the fierceful Pakistani attack. In the last test at Sialkot, Sachin was hit on the nose, but he refused medical attention though blood was gushing out. Sachin showed his class in an exhibition game in Peshawar, when he scored 53 runs of 18 balls, including 28 runs off Abdul Qadir’s over.

The Master Blaster really took the place of another Little Master Sunil Gavaskar by displaying an array of stokes, his now famous off-side shots from the back foot. In his maiden test hundred against England in 1990, Sachin remained 119 not out and also became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century. In the tour of Australia in 1991-92, Sachin scored an unbeaten 148 at Sydney and a century on a fast, bouncing pitch at Perth, to prove that the Master was in the making.

Since then we have seen Sachin score many runs and bag many honours. He has captained the Indian Team on two tenures, but has not been successful as a captain. Today, he captains the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. Looking back at his two-decade-long career, Sachin giving a modest reply said that he was looking at improvement in his game. 

Addressing a media conference on the occasion, Sachin said that he had always tried to make himself a better cricketer and always found that there was room for improvement. “Whenever I go out for practice there is always a purpose and I have continued doing that till date. That’s how you keep moving forward,” the Little Master said.

Even to date, Sachin has pleasant memories of his debut. Recalling his debut, Sachin said that it was the most important moment of his life when he got the India cap (Nov 15 in Karachi). “I was on cloud nine. After that there have been many great moments, but that day will always be special. Twenty years is a long time and right from the time I walked out to play my first Test in Pakistan and whatever I did after that was a mere reflection of my contribution to the nation’s cause,” India’s greatest batting legend said.

Speaking about the changes in the game that have taken place over the years, Sachin said that from third umpire to Twenty20, a lot has changed in cricket. “But Twenty20 has been the most noticeable change. We have seen plenty of innovative shots now being played in Test cricket due to Twenty20. Even the average score in ODIs has gone up, and now Test matches are having some result and they are not boring any more,” Sachin said.

In this hour of glory, the Little Champion did not forget his family, who has stood behind him lending rock support. Sachin said that he had put in lot of hard work and there were certain things that all sportsmen had to follow, like setting priorities, dedication and determination. He, however, said that he was lucky to have a great family where his brother, father and mother always supported him.

He said the limelight and success had won him many supporters and today whatever he did and wherever he performed, he had more than a billion people to share it with. “When I go out to bat, I am not alone and represent all of them,” the Little Master said.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Sachin’s milestone said that apart from Sir Garfield Sobers nobody else had played 20 years in international cricket and playing 20 years at the very highest level and to the very highest standard is an achievement beyond compare. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh compared Sachin to Don Bradman of present times. He said that he was privileged to have played a lot of cricket against him.

Current Indian captain MS Dhoni was full of praise for Sachin. “He continues to give more than 100% and his schoolboy-like enthusiasm for the game is something I envy and admire. For the team he is the best available coaching manual,” Dhoni said.  On the other hand, India’s 1983 World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev said that Sachin had taken on the role of India’s greatest sporting ambassador. “He has, among other things, inspired a generation and more to play cricket,” Kapil Dev said. Big B of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan paying a compliment to Sachin said that he had delayed his shootings to watch the Little Master in action.

Sachin has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. He is married to Anjali, a paediatrician and is blessed with a daughter Sara and son Arjun.

Fact file
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Right-hand batsman, right-arm slow bowler
Date of birth: April 24, 1973
Major teams: India, Mumbai, Yorkshire
Height: 5 feet, 5 inches

• Test debut: v Pakistan, Karachi, November 15, 1989

• One-day debut: v Pakistan, Gujranwala, December 18, 1989

• Twenty20 debut: v South Africa, Johannesburg, December 1, 2006

Career:

Tests:
Matches 160, Runs 12,877* runs, Average 54.58, Centuries 43, Wickets 44

One-dayers:
Matches 436, Runs 17,178, Average 44.50, Centuries 45, Wickets 154

Twenty20:
Match 1, Runs 10, Average 10.00, Wicket 1

World records:

• Most Test runs (12,773) and centuries (42)

• Most one-day runs (17,178) and centuries (45)

• Most World Cup runs (1,796)

• 1,000 or more Test runs in a calendar year five times: 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008. (Shares the feat with Matthew Hayden (AUS), Ricky Ponting (AUS) and Brian Lara (WIS))

• 1,000 or more one-day runs in a calendar year seven times: 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007.

• First batsman to score more than 50 international centuries. His tally stands at 87 - 42 Tests and 45 one-day hundreds.